GEAR REVIEW
FENDER AMERICAN ULTRA LUXE VINTAGE 50’ S TELECASTER | Eric Dahl
A TELE THAT DOES IT ALL?
Many of us in worship music have owned our share of telecaster or T-style guitars. My father bought me a used, and badly refinished, 1976 Fender Tele as my first good quality guitar as a teenager and I still own it. Modern musicians demand more from their instruments now than ever. Thus, the reason for custom shop models and boutique instrument companies who are known for pushing the limits of traditional guitars.
Fender has decided to take their own iconic design to task in the new American Ultra Luxe Vintage 50’ s Telecaster. From the images that we were sent earlier the Ultra Luxe looked like a traditional Telecaster from the front with a unique finish and a nod to the 50’ s. I was skeptical. When the guitar arrived at the WM offices, I was pleased to see that it was encased in a vintage vibe Deluxe tweed case to maintain the 50’ s flavor. After removing the instrument from its velvet home then it started to sink in how different this guitar was from previous versions of the Telecaster.
The Ash wood body was finished in Butterscotch Blonde Heirloom Nitrocellulose Lacquer. Not only does it feel vintage beneath your fingers but there is also vintage style checking over the entire body. The back of the Tele body was a big surprise with a beveled cutaway, contoured neck joint and a carved belly indention on the top of the body. Instead of going with the traditional brass barrels, nickel barrels or compensated bridge pieces, Fender installed six-individual solid brass block saddles for tone and intonation.
The maple neck appears traditional, but it is not. The neck quartersawn with a Modern“ D” shape, has 22 stainless steel frets and Luminlay glow in the dark side fret markers. The machine
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